A Certain Dark Prince
by Jericho the Temperate
Summary: When the Holy Britannian Empire invaded the far eastern island nation of Japan one part of the Japanese Isles escaped destruction at the hands of the empire. That was Academy City, a city dedicated to scientific research and the development of esper powers. Now, seven years later, things are about to get interesting for both the empire and the city thanks to a certain prince.
1. Prologue

_Hello everyone. This is a new idea I've been spinning in my mind for a while now. And since I seem to have hit a writers block with my other Fate/Geass crossover fic I'm giving this a go. This will be a crossover of To aru Majutsu no Index and Code Geass, and unlike my other two fics will start at the beginning of the code geass story line. Though fair warning, this plot will be following the cannon plot only loosely and will intertwine with the To aru story arcs. The main focus will be on Lelouch vi Britannia and with the other characters playing major roles. I love this chance to write his character as he will develop and mature over the course of the story. Something that I have to admit is lacking in my geass/fate fic no matter how much I love it._

_I hope you guys will enjoy this story. And do let me know what you think of the plot and writing._

_Disclaimer: I own neither Code Geass or the To Aru Majutsu No Index works. This is simply fanfiction._

* * *

Prologue

In the year 2010 A.T. B the Holy Britannian Empire invaded the far eastern island nation of Japan. Faced with the unstoppable might of the massive Britannian armies and their deadly new weapon, the Knightmareframes, the Japanese defenses were swept aside and within months the entire nation was in the grasp of the conquerors. Area 11, the once proud nation of Japan was reduced to a mere number and became just another colony for the ever expanding empire. And it's people were now second class citizens in the country that was once theirs. Forced to toil in the factories and mines that bled the wealth of their nation to feed the coffers of Britannia. Only one part of the Japanese isles was spared the depredation. That was Academy City. An independent city state that was founded during the final decades of the last century as a place entirely dedicated to scientific research and education, Academy City negotiated a treaty of neutrality with the empire and escaped the fate suffered by the rest of the isles. Seven years had passed since then. And even today the Holy Britannian Empire has respected the independence of the city state and made no attempts to encroach on its territory. Protected by both the massive walls encircling the city and treaties of non-aggression and mutual aid with the major world powers, life in the city has continued for the most part untouched by the events sweeping the outside world. And the little city state continues to function and continued to lead the world in scientific advancement.

* * *

_The first chapter will be posted right along with this._


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Academy City

_This is where the story really starts. Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 1: Welcome to Academy City  


* * *

"Welcome to Academy City!" The pretty stewardess intoned as the tour bus and its cargo of tourists streamed through the streets of the city. "A place of science for science, there is no other city like this in the entire world!" She gestured at the buildings passing by. "Home to 2.3 million people and 80% of them are students" She smiled at her passengers. "Now, can anyone tell me just what these students study?"

"Esper powers!" One of the passengers, an eight year old kid, called out loudly, his hand in the air as if he was in class.

"Thats right!" The pretty stewardess confirmed. "This entire city is dedicated to the development and research of ESP. In fact you might call the entire city a single huge experiment!"

"Students here go through what we call the power curriculum" She continued. "It is a program designed to bring out the latent esper abilities of the human brain. And almost 60% of the students in the city have gained some form of noticeable power via this program"

* * *

As the tour bus sped on, the streets of the city were beginning to fill with an army of students as the start of the school day drew near. They came from all ages and multiple nationalities, and they wore a bewildering array of uniforms each unique to one to the many schools in the city.

The students hurried on, some of them pointing upwards at the many blimps circling the skies of the city as they announced a system scan. A test of esper abilities held at regular intervals to assess a students esper power level.

Though not all students were so eager.

* * *

At the far corner of one of the numerous parks that dotted the city sat a certain vending machine, and a certain middle school girl was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in front of it.

A moment later...

"CHASER!"

Her left foot swung around in a powerful roundhouse kick and slammed into the side of the poor vending machine.

There was a hollow bang, a metallic whirling sound, and a moment later the machine spat out a can of juice.

The girl calmly picked up the can and proceeded to drink.

"Onee-sama!" A voice erupted from behind the girl and she almost spewed her drink as she turn in the direction of the voice.

"Kuroko! What are you doing here?" She asked the newcomer who was looking disapprovingly between the vending machine and the can of juice in her hand.

The first girl was short, had short brown hair and large brown eyes, and at a glance was about thirteen years old. She wore a school uniform that consisted of a rather short gray skirt and a light brown sleeveless sweater over a white long sleeved shirt. It was the uniform of Tokiwadai Middle School, one of the most prestigious schools of Academy City, and had a reputation for accepting only the most gifted espers into its student body.

The newcomer wore the same uniform but was even shorter than the first girl, and much younger. She had her much longer brown hair tied in two pigtails, and her face was turned up to glare at the older girl.

"Honestly Onee-sama, how many times have I told you not to do things like this? Vandalism is a crime, and how would it look if you were caught? Hardly fitting for the image of Academy City's level five and our schools ace"

"Shut up!" The older girl said as she turned her face away semi guiltily. "I'm just getting my moneys worth from this machine. Besides" She lifted her juice can to her lips again. "I could care less about my image"

"Honestly Onee-sama" The younger girl repeated, shaking her head in despair. "Not only does Onee-sama not care about her image and behave childishly, she dresses childishly as well. Wearing shorts under your skirt? What kind of young lady does that?"

...

"Bleerrrgh!"

The older girl made incomprehensible sounds as she spewed her drink.

"Just where exactly were you looking Kuroko!" She shouted as little sparks of electricity seemed to fly from her hair.

* * *

In another street close by a motorcycle with an attached sidecar sped along, manned by two boys who wore the male uniform of Ashford Academy. Ashford was one of the many schools of Academy City and one that had a reputation of welcoming any and all students regardless of power level. The uniform consisted of black slacks and black buttoned up coat with the Ashford crest picked out in gold thread on the collar cuffs.

The boy manning the bike had light blue hair in the shape of a ducks wing along with a perpetually cheerful expression.

His companion who occupied the sidecar was tall and slender, with silky black hair and royal purple eyes. He seemed entirely focused on the book he was reading as the blue haired boy weaved the bike through the morning traffic.

"Woa" The blue haired boy suddenly spoke up. "I just had a premonition of doom. Like something terrible is going to happen when we get back"

"Considering that the president will be noticing that we have skipped school right about now, I'd say your premonition is dead accurate" His companion answered never taking his eyes off the book.

"Yeah we are going to be in hot water when we get back, but lets face it. We have both been level zero for as long as we've been here, that won't be changing any time soon"

"True enough"His companion replied. "So we might as well be doing something useful with our time" he suddenly frowned. "Strange, I have a premonition this time"

"Really?"

"Yes, I got the most uncomfortable feeling that I would be eating a thousand needles if a certain person ever found out why we cut school today"

"Man that's grim" The blue haired boy suddenly brightened. "But hey, maybe this means we are finally showing signs of esper power"

"Who knows, stranger things have happened" His companion replied as the bike sped on.

* * *

Even as they made their escape, back in Ashford Academy, chaos reigned.

The students milled around the corridors frantically preparing for the system scan as harassed looking teachers checked and double checked lists and hauled bulky equipment into place.

Milly Ashford, the blonde, blue eyed and busty president of the Ashford Academy Student Council and granddaughter of the school principal, strode through the chaos like a queen through a battlefield. And like a queen, her faithful entourage trailed behind her. Shirley Fennette, the orange haired member of the swim team and Nina Einstein, the ultra shy, pigtailed genius.

Milly cast a casual glance behind her as she walked, the students filling the corridor automatically parting before her formidable bust. "Is it just me, or am I missing a full half of my minions today?"

Nina Einstein raised a small hesitant hand. "Um, I think Lelouch and Rivalz left school in that bike Madame President"

"Wha...No!...Lulu!" Shirley wailed starting the process of going into hysterics. "Cutting school. And today of all days. They're going to be in so much trouble when the teachers find out"

"Honestly Lelouch, what am I going to do with you?" An exasperated Milly muttered to herself. "Running off on a day like this? Now whose going to do all the paperwork?" Her eyes came to rest on a poor Shirley. "And who is going to deal with your frantic girlfriend?"

* * *

Half a city away from Ashford Academy, a pair of middle school girls were walking along the tree lined streets of the well to do part of town, both wearing the uniform of Tokiwadai Middle School.

Or rather one of them was walking, the other was practically running in place with excitement. She looked around fourteen, with blonde hair in two short ponytails and bright blue eyes. Her round face shone with enthusiasm as she urged their companion forward.

"Come on Nunna-chan hurry up. I want to see how close I am to hitting level five" The blonde girl called out to her friend who giggled at her antics.

"I'm just happy with how far I've come already. But I'm sure Alice-chan has improved a lot! You work so hard for it!"

The second girl was around the same age, but had long curly brown hair that fell down her back, big blue eyes and a lovely heart shaped face. It was a combination that cased heads to turn as she walked along the street with her book bag held in front of her. Even though she remained blissfully unaware. Though her friend noticed and sent surreptitious glares at the worst offenders.

"Oh come on" Alice, as she was now identified, continued after glaring at another poor student. "Why isn't Nunna-cnan all fired up with motivation and drive to reach the top? It's every students dream in this city"

"Not mine" The brown haired girl smiled. "Though I do wonder how Onii-sama is doing" She added thoughtfully.

"Oh I wouldn't worry" Alice grinned. "Nunnally-chans Onii-sama is unstoppable, invincible and invulnerable. At least that's how Nunnally-chan tells it. I'm sure he'll ace the scan"

"Alice-chan!" Nunnally protested. "I don't say it like that. Even though Onii-sama is awesome" She muttered under her breath.

"You should hear yourself sometime" Alice laughed softly as she walked along. "But seriously, he sounds like a model student from what you tell me, never missing a class (On a certain motorcycle, a certain boy felt a wave of guilt wash over him), acing all the tests, winning all the prizes. A guy like that won't have any problems with the scan"

* * *

They had finally left the bike at one of the parking garages on the outskirts of the city and continued the rest of the way on foot. The neighborhood they now walked through was full of derelict buildings and piles of refuse, a side of Academy City that most students never saw.

Rivalz was a bit jumpy as they walked along the abandoned streets. But Lelouch was as calm as ever, not giving the empty windows and doorways they passed a second glance.

This particular district was one of those that bordered the giant wall that surrounded Academy City. The wall was intended both to protect the city from outside incursions and to keep the students from leaving the city without permission.

The two boys, with Lelouch in the led, walked into a building that looked even more rundown than the others. The walls on the upper floors were missing, there were large cracks running along the ground floor walls and the entire structure looked ready to collapse.

"Man, couldn't he have picked somewhere more dangerous?" Rivalz muttered as they walked in. "I swear the thing will fall on us if we speak too loudly"

"I believe the hazardous location keeps the local gangs away from this place" Lelouch replied never pausing in his step. "Besides, we won't be here long"

"Danger is something you must put up with to do business" A voice said from the shadows one of the empty doorways. "And relax Rivalz, if this place does start to fall down around us, I'll be sure to get you guys out, free of charge!"

"Well that warms my heart" Rivalz muttered as the speaker emerged from the doorway.

He was a boy of Japanese origin. With short cropped black hair and square spectacles, he was dressed in a school uniform that consisted of a white shirt and gray tie over gray slacks.

"Now can we get this over with? I'm already getting late for the system scan" The newcomer asked holding out his hand.

"Certainly" Lelouch replied, producing a think sheaf of bills from his coat pocket and placing them in the boys hand.

The boy spent a moment thumbing through the bills, and then pocketed them with a satisfied grin before rubbing his hands together. "You guys ready"

"Ready and willing" Rivalz grinned.

"I'm ready" Lelouch replied sounding almost bored.

"Ok"

The boy was Jinsoku ryokō, age seventeen, full time student, part time dubious businessman, completely amoral and level four teleporter.

"Jinsoku teleportation services, two passengers to Tokyo Settlement. Ready. Set. Teleport!"

* * *

_Nothing much happens in this chapter other than an introduction to some of the major characters and the primary setting. Things should start to get interesting from the next chapter on wards. And yes, in this world Nunnally is alive and well, and will be playing a major role in the story. Also as you might guess, certain characters and events from Nightmare of Nunnally will be part of the plot._

_Please tell me what you guys think of this idea._

_Till next time. :)_


	3. Chapter 2: The King Moves First

_Hello everyone, after a long long delay I'm ready with the second chapter of the fic._

* * *

Chapter 2: The King Moves First

* * *

Mr Ruben Ashford, formerly the Earl Ashford, was having a very bad day. The old man was currently seated across a small table from a minor Britannian noble. On the table between them was a chess board, with the game almost over. Sadly it was the noble who was winning.

Gambling was the old mans one vice, and he indulged in it shamelessly. Even if it meant betting large sums of money on games he had only the slimmest chance of winning.

Mr Ashford fought down a wince as he remembered the stakes. While the Ashfords were wealthy, indeed wealthy enough to run their own private school, their current wealth was only a fraction of what they once had to their name when they were still nobility of the empire. They could no longer afford to indulge themselves like in the old days and had be careful how and where they spent their money. And now he had gambled a significant slice of their remaining funds on a chess match he was seconds away from loosing. Funds they could ill afford to loose. When his daughter-in-law found out that he had gambled with this much money and lost...This time the old man did wince.

The old man was snapped out from his gloomy thoughts by the timer keeping track of the moves going off with a ringing sound. The match referee glanced at his watch and clicked the alarm off before speaking to both players.

"You're out of time. From now on you only have nine seconds per move"

"Very well, I'm game" Looking supremely unconcerned, the smirking noble pulled out a golden nail file and started trimming his nails.

Mr Ashford felt like crying.

That was when the door to their small private room opened and once of the nobles bodyguards showed in two newcomers.

The noble raised a sarcastic eyebrow, still trimming his nails. "What's this? Did your substitute arrive at last?"

The newcomers stepped up to the table, giving the men sitting and standing around it a good look at them. Two boys in their late teens and dressed in school uniforms of an unfamiliar cut. One of them had blue hair shaped like a birds wing and carried a motorcycle helmet in his hand. The other one was tall, skinny, and had dark black hair that fell in bangs down his forehead and royal purple eyes.

The match referee and the nobles bodyguards were rather surprised to see a pair of school boys walk into a gambling match, but they hid it well. Mr Ashford on the other hand leaped up from his chair to shake the hand of the dark haired boy, relief evident in his face.

"Oh, thank heavens I'm saved. Thank you for coming at such short notice, were you able to get away from school alright?"

Behind them, the noble could contain his amusement no longer. "A school boy? You call a school boy to be your substitute? Your wits must be slipping old man"

Instead of answering the black haired boy extricated himself from Mr Ashfords grasping hands and moved to take the chair the old man had vacated while his blue haired companion bent down and peered at the chess board and pursed his lips.

"Man this one looks difficult, even for you Lelouch" The blue haired boy glanced at his now seated friend. "You sure you are up to this"

"Rivalz" The black haired boy now identified as Lelouch spoke calmly as he surveyed the board. "Don't get too comfortable. We will be out of here in under ten minutes"

The noble gaped at him. The referee however spoke up. "Sir, you have only nice seconds per move"

"That's alright" Lelouch said even as his hand reached forwards and moved the black king one square. "Shall we begin?"

The noble blinked at the board. "You start with the king?"

Lelouch smirked, ever so slightly.

* * *

A goodly distance from the casino stood Tokyo General Hospital.

The large rectangular multistory building was one of the first to be built in the new Tokyo Settlement and had the latest in Britannian medical technology at it's disposal. However unlike most hospitals this one had a small contingent of armed soldiers standing guard at the entrances. They patrolled the roads around the hospital in pairs and stood guard at the entrances making both passerby and patients quite nervous.

So when a laundry truck bearing the logo of one of the local businesses pulled up to the entrance of the underground garage it was ordered to a halt by the soldiers at the entrance. The soldiers checked the identification and pass papers of the driver and his companion and insisted they open the rear doors of the van and subjected it's contents to a through inspection to find that it was only filled with bales of clean laundry before waving the vehicle through. The driver, a man of Japanese origin with long black hair that spilled out from under his white cap and dressed in a white coverall, nodded differential at the troopers before he guided the laundry van into the under ground garage and bought it to a halt next to a line of parked ambulances.

"Whew!" He finally said in a relived voice as he turned to his companion. "Well we got inside, now the hard part begins"

The other person in the truck, a girl dresses identically to the man but with spiky red hair spilling out from under her cap, was watching the other occupants of the garage warily. "Looks like we got in just in time, they're getting ready to move" She gestured at another vehicle parked in the garage, a large white fright truck with an attached trailer, it had a full squad of soldiers surrounding it. Even as they watched a pair of men wearing lab coats jumped out of the trailer doors and proceeded to slam the doors shut.

"Yeah, well lets get the party started" the black haired man grinned and produced a small two way radio from within the folds of his coverall, it had been about the only thing they had been able to smuggle in past security. "Attention Red Two, we are in position, you can start the distraction!"

They waited eagerly for a response but the only reply they got was the static noise coming out of the device.

Man and girl exchanged a glance before the man tried again. "Attention Red Two, we are in position, you can start the distraction!"

Still only static came back at them through the device.

"They're starting to move out" the girl interrupted pointing at the truck, and indeed the large truck was beginning to power up and would soon drive out of the garage.

The long haired man cursed before trying again "Tamaki! Come in! Do you read me? Start the distraction right bloody now!"

More static...

"We have to do something" The girl said, urgency in her voice as she glared at the now moving truck. "If they get outside we miss the chance for good"

The long haired man gritted his teeth. "Goddammit Tamaki!"

* * *

The golden nail file fell from the noble's nerveless fingers as he gaped at the chessboard before him. Still not quite able to understand what had happened.

It was exactly nice minutes and thirty five seconds after the start of the match. And the board was empty save for the black pieces surrounding the white king.

The noble was still staring mutely when Lelouch rose smoothly from his chair and turned to Mr Ashford, who wasted no time in wringing the boys hand once more and thanking him profusely for saving him and more importantly, his money.

"As agreed I expect three times the normal payment transferred to the usual account at your earliest convenience" Lelouch smoothly interrupted the old mans string of praise as Rivalz came up behind them.

"Of course my boy, of course. It'll be done by tomorrow" Mr Ashford beamed. Now that he was in no danger from loosing a large pile of money, he was prepared to be generous. "If there is anything else I can do for you, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. I owe you a debt for coming to my aid today"

"As a matter of fact" Lelouch looked thoughtful. "There is something you can do for the both of us" He gestured at Rivalz behind him.

"Anything my boy, anything at all"

"As you know we had a system scan today, and we both missed it because we came here" Lelouch explained as guilt started to creep up on Mr Ashford's face. "And we are both likely to be in a great deal of trouble when we get back as a result. Missing a system scan is a serious thing. Could I ask you to smooth things out with the teachers for us?"

"I...well" On the sidelines, Rivalz watched in growing amusement as Mr Ashford fought a brief inner battle between the duty of a school principal and gratitude for the young man who had just saved his bacon. As expected, gratitude won. "Of course, of course. I'll take care of everything, no need for you to worry about that"

"_Having the school principal in your pocket has it's advantages_" Rivalz thought as Lelouch shook the old mans hand one last time and headed for the door, gesturing for him to follow.

However, just as they reached the door and one of the bodyguards opened it for them, the noble who had been sitting mutely at the chess board until now finally found his voice.

"Wait..." He called out to the departing boys. "Wait, who are you? Your name? What's your name?"

Lelouch paused with one foot out the door and half turned, his lips almost smirking as his eyes fell on the noble who was leaning forward in his chair, face intent as if waiting for some kind of revelation. "Lelouch...my name is Lelouch Lamperouge. And like you said, I'm just a schoolboy"

With that he turned on his heel and walked out, his blue haired friend a step behind him.

* * *

The long haired Japanese man had managed to brake every traffic law in Area 11 in under ten minutes.

He drove the large trailer truck through the Tokyo Settlement streets in a manner more suited for a sports car accompanied by the wailing sirens of pursuing police cars.

"Goddammit Tamaki!" He snarled out as he made another hair raising turn. "If that idiot had stuck with the plan none of this would have happened"

"Keep driving" His companion encouraged him. "If we can make it to the ghetto we're safe"

"I know!" The black haired man glanced at the rear view mirror and snarled at the police cars behind them. "But these guys aren't making it easy! It's a wonder they hadn't shot at us yet"

"They wouldn't dare" The woman replied. "Not with our cargo"

"Well that's the only good thing...Oh shit!"

"What?" The redhead looked at the long haired man who was suddenly looking even more worried.

By way of reply the man nodded at the side mirror of the truck, indicating that the girl should look behind them.

She did. "I don't see anything..." She looked up. "Oh shit!" A pair of VTOLs had caught up to them and were keeping pace with them.

"Yeah, they're bringing in the big guns, it won't be long before they try something"

"Damn, no choice. I'll take care of them" The girl said as she started to unbuckle the seat belt. "Wait until we're near the old subway tunnels, the area around them is unpopulated"

"Why can't you just do it here?"

"Cause that'll be a blood bath!" The girl snapped as she opened a rear door that led to the trucks trailer and stepped through it.

"Got it" The long haired man put his foot down on the accelerator, and the truck leaped forward.

Even after the promised backup had failed to provide them with the arranged distraction they had managed to steal the trailer from a squad of Britannian soldiers guarding it and get it this far. It had been a lot messier than originally planned, they had almost ended up dead in the fight, but they had managed it. Because despite being unable to smuggle in any firearms or other teammates with their laundry truck. Because between the two of them they had manged to smuggle in a concealed weapon that could easily deal with a unit of Britannian soldiers.

* * *

"Man that was awesome" Rivalz cheered as the taxi drove them through the busy streets of Tokyo Settlement. "When you won he was like, No way! And then he was like, Who the hell are you?" He grinned at the memory of the noble gasping like a fish out of water. "And by the way, nine minutes thirty four seconds is a new record"

"He didn't have much time to move either" Lelouch said absently, never lifting his eyes off his book. "Besides, the nobility in this neck of the woods are noting more than titled parasites, used to privilege and never being challenged, they have grown soft, complacent"

"Yeah, the only good thing about them is that they are too proud not to pay their debts" Rivalz glanced at their driver, a honorary Britannian who was carefully pretending not to hear their slandering of the nobility. "Still I have a question for you buddy. Why did you start with the king? Isn't the whole point of the game to protect the king?"

"If the king doesn't move, then how can his subjects follow?"

"Man that's deep" Rivalz glanced at his friend who was still engrossed in his book. "Do you plan on running a major cooperation one day with that kind of attitude?"

"No way, ambition like that is bad for your health" Lelouch looked up from his book and frowned as something caught his eye in the rear view mirror of the taxi.

Right then their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the small television mounted on the dashboard of the car that suddenly changed from playing a music video to show a news room.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special news report" The newscaster said as the screen behind him shifted to show a hospital that had police cars and firetrucks parked around it while armed soldiers patrolled the streets. "A few minutes ago their was an attack on the Tokyo General Hospital. The attackers are suspected to be eleven terrorists and are reported to have stolen a chemical weapon that was being developed jointly by the military. The public is urged to stay clam and not to panic. Even as we are speaking the area eleven authorities are already moving in to apprehend the terrorists and retrieve the weapon" The image behind him changed once more. This time it was an aerial view, no doubt shot from a news helicopter, and showed a white semi truck being pursued by several police cars and a pair of VTOLs.

"Chemical weapon? You mean poison gas?" Rivalz asked, his friendly face for once in a frown.

"Yes" Lelouch answered looking down at the television screen, a moment later he blinked and turned in his seat to look out the rear window of the taxi, then he glanced at the TV screen again before letting out a sigh. "Rivalz, you might want to put on your seat belt"

"Huh?" Rivalz looked as his friend calmly pulled up the seat belts on the rear seats and strapped himself in.

"Look behind you"

Rivalz obligingly turned in his seat to look behind them, a moment later he too frowned and turned to look back at the TV screen, then he once more turned in his seat to look out the back window of the taxi.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes"

"That's them behind us!"

"Unfortunately yes" Lelouch directed his gaze forward at their Honorary Britannian driver, who had been listening to the conversation and was starting to panic as he pieced together what was happening. "Driver! Get us out of here! And don't even think about stopping" He added as the man opened his mouth to argue. "If we stop now we'll get caught up in a military action, and the military will be very suspicious of any Honorary Britannians found in the neighborhood. After all, the terrorists themselves are Japanese" He added as extra incentive.

The driver cursed and floored the accelerator, sending the small taxi screeching ahead of the truck and it's pursuers.

"Get us off the main road and we can loose them" Lelouch half shouted as the car almost tipped over as it made a hair raising turn.

"We can get on the old subway tunnels on the next turn off. They'll take us to Shinjuku Ghetto. We can loose them there" The driver shouted back as he struggled to control the car.

"Good idea" Lelouch nodded his approval and glanced behind them once more.

The truck was still behind them and still accelerating, the VTOLS were keeping pace above it, and one of them was announcing something via built in loudspeakers. Probably an order for them to pull over and surrender. Then, before his astonished eyes, a beam of crimson light shot out from the rear of the truck and stuck one of the VTOLs, the flying machine crumpling like a paper cup and exploding in a brilliant fireball a moment later.

"What the hell was that!" Rivalz screeched from behind him.

"Esper, it has to be, no weapon I know of produces that kind of effect. At least a level four" Lelouch chuckled darkly. "Looks like we are not the only ones to skip the system scan"

Rivlaz's own answering laugh was almost hysterical.

Their attention was drawn back to the road in front of them by the driver shouting. "There it is!"

And sure enough, in front of them was a dead end road that had once opened up into the vast underground subway network that Tokyo used to be famous for. Now they had been declared off limits and been cordoned off with the majority of them rumoured to have collapsed from neglect.

A second later they had smashed through the flimsy barricade and shot into the dark tunnel, and Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief. Another second later he cursed as he realized the truck was still behind them.

"No way, they're taking the same route as us!" Rivalz wailed next to him.

"You have got to be joking" Lelouch snarled. "Can this situation get any worse?"

The sudden terrified scream of the taxi driver drew his attention forwards again. And he saw, to his own sudden terror, that yes, it can get worse.

The car had taken another turn only to find that the tunnel had collapsed ahead of them and a wall of rubble and earth blocked their way. The driver frantically slammed on the breaks but Lelouch already knew they were never going to make it. A second later something slammed into them and Lelouch had only a split second to realize that the truck had crashed into them from behind, unable to slowdown at the same pace as the smaller car, before his world was reduced to a spinning dizzying cacophony of crashes, deafening noises and pain. He vaguely heard Rivalz screaming behind him and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that the car had flipped over. Then all thoughts fled as his mind sank into unconsciousness the world became black.

* * *

When Lelouch came to, he was upside down. Though it took him a moment to realize it. When he could think again with a modicum of normalcy, he realized that the car had flipped over and landed more or less on it's roof, which explained why he was seeing the world the wrong way up.

"I knew the seat belts were a good idea" He muttered as he fought to untangle himself from that same seat belt and get out of the car. The seats had released airbags on impact and that were pressing in on him with an almost suffocating presence and he felt dizzy with the blood rushing to his head, but he knew that he had to get out and away from the car or the fuel tanks might blow.

However the same combination of seat belt and air bags that had probably saved his life were now proving to be obstacles as he struggled to reach the seat belt release. A sudden groan from next to him reminded him that his gambling partner and classmate was also with him.

"Rivaz? Rivalz? Can you hear me?" His only answer was another groan. Lelouch cursed and redoubled his efforts to get free.

A lot of wiggling and contorting later he managed to finally hit the release on his seat belt. Then he just barely managed to get his arms out in time to break his fall and avoid landing on his head. After that there followed several more minutes of contorting his body into impossible angles to reach the door and forcefully push it open. And then of course he got to repeat the entire process again to get Rivalz out.

But finally a panting Lelouch finally manged to drag his friends groaning body away from the wreck. He knew it was hopeless to try to rescue the driver. The entire front side of the car, including the drivers seat, was crushed by the impact and was a ruin of crushed metal and shattered glass. Anyone who had been sitting there was beyond help.

Lelouch knew that they were both lucky to have survived that. Even if one of them was injured. But he also knew that they were not out of danger yet.

"Who the hell are you?" The voice came from behind him.

Lelouch spun to face the source of the voice and came face to face with a girl in her late teens with spiky red hair and dressed in a white coverall. She had her left hand pointed at the boys with the palm facing outwards. To anyone who wasn't from Academy City the gesture would have meant nothing. But Lelouch was reminded uncomfortably of the beam of red light that had destroyed the VTOL. No, not out of danger yet.

"I'm not trying to do anything to you, I'm just trying to help my friend" Lelouch indicated the half conscious Rivalz he was dragging.

The girl didn't look convinced. "What are you doing here? How did a pair of Britannians end up in a place like this?"

"We were tying to get away from the chaos outside. What else would you have done if you had been in our shoes" Lelouch responded while watching the girl warily.

While on the outside his voice and manner remained clam, inside Lelouch was panicking. "_These guys are actual terrorists. They won't hesitate to get rid of us if we appear a threat to them. I __don't dare__ turn to __t__he authorities __for help __either. __Being caught and questioned by the Britannian authorities __will __be __even __worse for me_" No matter how he looked at it, things were going to end badly. His musings were interrupted by a third voice joining the fray.

"Kallen, they're just kids. They were just caught up in this" The speaker was a long haired Japanese man who was dressed in the same white coveralls as the girl but looking a lot worse for wear. His face was pale and twisted in pain and he was leaning one shoulder against the side of the truck to keep himself on his feet while one hand grasped his side where the coveralls were stained red. Even as they watched the mans legs gave out and he slid down the side of the truck, finally ending up in a sitting position with his back against the side of the truck.

"Nagatta!" The girl ran to him, seeming to forget all about Lelouch and Rivalz. "Hang in there, I'll see what I can do"

"No time" Nagatta gasped out through clenched teeth. "You have to get out of here Kallen, they'll be coming in here any minute now"

"I have to help you first"

"No time!" Nagatta said again between gasping breaths. "The only reason they haven't come down on us already is because you shot down that VTOL. They don't want to risk sending in ordinary police against that kind of weapon so they'll wait while they call out the big guns. That gives us some time, so use it and get out of here!"

"But how can anyone get out? The only way out is back through the tunnel" Lelouch asked while checking Rivalz over for injuries. The blue haired boy was bruised and battered all over, but the only serious injury seemed to be his right arm that was clearly broken. That would explain his state of semi-consciousness. He was in shock.

"Shut up! No one asked your opinion! And you are not coming with us" In a flash the girl spun around and pointed her arm at him once more.

Lelouch opened his mouth to protest, once more uncomfortably reminded of the attack that had taken down the VTOL. But a metallic clang interrupted him and drew his attention back to the truck that had spun around and tipped over in the crash. The rear doors of the truck were flapping open, with light from inside spilling out into the tunnel and providing what little light there was in the dark tunnel. And now something was standing silhouetted in the open doorway. Something that neither of them was expecting.

As they watched in astonishment the girl hopped lightly down from the truck and took a couple of steps in their direction. She had long green hair, pale alabaster skin, and piercing golden eyes. She was dressed in a strange outfit that looked part prison uniform and part restraining jacket. As the girl met his eyes Lelouch felt strange. Then the feeling was gone as she fell flat on her face in an unconscious heap.

"What the hell!" Was all Lelouch could manage.

The red haired girl ran to the truck and peered inside. "She was in the capsule! But that was supposed to be poison gas!"

"Poison gas?" Lelouch was having a difficult time processing this latest development. "This girl?"

"That's what they said" The red haired girl said absently. "Our intel said the capsule was filled with poison gas"

Lelouch shook his head in confusion. He wondered just what he had gotten himself into this time. But once more his thoughts were interrupted by a loud rumbling noise. A moment later bright light illuminated the entire tunnel and an amplified voice blared out. "Found you are terrorist scum! Prepare to be put down like the dogs you are!"

Lelouch turned and saw, to his utter horror, the silhouettes of multiple Knightmareframes blocking the tunnel. Each machine at least twice the height of a normal man, they had their giant rifles pointed directly at them and they gave no indication of wanting to take them alive.

"_No way! We are going to die here, gunned down like dogs. There is no way we can get out of this alive_" Lelouch thought in panic. "_It's really going to end here in this forsaken tunnel. My life will end like this. Ended because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dragged into a conflict I had nothing to do with_"

The scene was frozen like that for a moment. Then everything seemed to happen at once.

The red haired girl raised her arm and a bream of blinding red energy shot out from her palm at the lead Knightmare. As he ducked away from the massive explosion that followed, Lelouch caught a glimpse of something that he had been unable to see before in the poor light of the tunnel, but was visible now in the flood lights from the Knightmare frames. A small shadowed doorway, most likely one of the old service tunnels. He shouted incoherently an pointed it out to the girl, who seemed to get the message as she ducked around the truck and started to run back to her friend just as one of the remaining Knightmares shouted the order to open fire. The Japanese man, Nagatta was shouting something at the girl as he pulled out a hand grenade from his coverall and jammed it into the trucks fuel tank. Not waiting to see what would happen next Lelouch only paused to pick up the first person that was in his way and ran for the doorway.

He had just barely managed to get inside the doorway when the explosion rocked the tunnel behind them.

* * *

Dietard Reid was doing a wonderful impression of a wall flower as he leaned against the ballroom wall. The room itself was situated in the upper stories of one of Area elevens most luxurious hotels and was currently filled to the brim by the great and the good of colonial society. Ladies in elegant ball gowns with their hair done in elaborate updoes nibbled on sweetmeats and rubbed shoulders with nobles who sipped at glasses of wine and dressed in cravats and greatcoats that invokes images of Victorian era England. Both males and females glittered with a wealth of jewelry as they moved about the hall. Diamond tiaras and golden tiepins, signet rings and jeweled necklaces, enough portable wealth to buy the hotel twice over. At least in his corner Dietard was safe from being driven to insanity by the inane prattle they called conversation and from catching a migraine from the scent of their head spinning perfumes.

But in stark contrast to Dietard lurking in his corner, in the very centre of this cacophony of cravats, low cut bodices, glittering jewellery, head spinning perfumes and unending gossip stood Clovis la Britannia, prince of the realm, Viceroy of Area Eleven, and the pre-eminent socialite of the Holy Britannian Empire. The young royal was clearly in his element as he held court surrounded by a half dozen ladies and a brace of noblemen. Dressed in an elaborate purple and white outfit he laughed easily at a joke one of them had just told and made a sweeping gesture with his hand before taking a delicate sip from the wine glass in his hand. The circle around him nodded their heads and the princes remark and murmured accent. The watching Dietard could only guess at what they were saying. Probably a discussion on the latest batch of paintings put up on the area art galleries. It was the only other thing the prince was passionate about. Art. Even Dietard had to admit it was marginally more tolerable than rubbing shoulders with earls and barons at these social functions.

This had been Dietard's life for months now. His boss had given him the unenviable task of covering the prince's exploits and maintaining his public image in their TV channel. And he was close to handing in his resignation from the sheer boredom of the job. Still he had to admit that Clovis himself made the work a lot easier by doing a full half of Dietard's work for him. Prince Clovis pretty much had the nobility covered with his carefully constructed social image. All Dietard was left with make Clovis look good in front of the commoners and the elevens. So far he had managed well enough by shamelessly highlighting the princes sponsorship of the young artists of Area Eleven, his humanitarian efforts in rebuilding the towns and cities destroyed by war and his efforts to make a better life for the Elevens thorough the Honorary Britannian Project.

And to think that Dietard had actually harboured dreams of risking life and limb to bring the world reports of the empire's armies valiantly battling Eleven terrorists. Being a war reporter had been his life's ambition. That was the reason he had chosen to come to an area that had never been fully pacified.

And this is where he had ended up.

Dietard's attention was drawn to the doors of the hall as a portly man in the uniform of a high ranking military officer all but ran into the room huffing and puffing. Dietard knew him, Bartley Aspitus, general in command of the Area Eleven military forces and the prince's adviser in all things military.

"_Something has happened_" Dietard thought as Bartley made a bee line for the prince, trailing a stream squawks and outraged exclamations from the gathered crowd as he pushed past them by virtue of his bulk.

The general reached the knot of people around the prince himself and rather rudely inserted himself into the group and drew Clovis aside for a private word. Dietard watched with mounting curiosity as the general whispered into Clovis's ear.

"What!"

Every eye in the hall turned to stare. Clovis had all but shouted out the word, clearly forgetting where he was. If the news was grave enough to make Prince Clovis of all people to forget himself at a social function...Dietard kept watching as the prince hastily excused himself and left the hall, General Bartley in tow. Once the prince was out of the room the reporter left his own corner and swiftly moved to the exit. Dietard had been looking straight at Clovis when the General had whispered his news, and the look on the princes face had been one of shock, anger and more than a little fear.

"_Yes something has definitely happened_" Dietard thought as he pulled out a mobile phone and contacted his news crew.

* * *

The doorway had led to a short passage that had eventually opened up into another underground sunway tunnel that the girl assured them would eventually take them to the middle of Shinjuku ghetto. Lelouch couldn't wait.

His body has been running on pure adrenaline before, and coupled with mortal terror, he had found the strength to do what would have been impossible for him otherwise. However the adrenaline fuelled rush had been temporary, and now his body was starting to protest at the abuse that had been inflicted upon it.

The result was that Lelouch had sunk to the tunnel floor and was on all fours, head hanging down and panting like a dog. His posture earned a snort of angry contempt from the red haired girl and a semi-amused look from the green haired one.

"You are a fine example of manhood" The redhead said as she proceeded to fit a makeshift sling into Rivalz's broken arm. "Ever heard of this thing called hard work? It does wonders for your condition"

"Oh be quiet" Lelouch panted back. "I'll be fine in a moment"

The redhead snorted and went back to her work. Lelouch still didn't know how he had convinced her not to kill them after they had escaped the Knightmareframes. But convince her he had. She had even agreed to help them after a fashion, at least until they could all get to safety.

Rivalz was the only one of them to take a serious injury. Both the redhead and Lelouch were bruised and battered, but otherwise unharmed. The greenhaired girl, once she had been released from her strange restraining suit, had been stiff for a while, but had recovered remarkably quickly. Rivalz hadn't been so lucky. He'd regained consciousness soon after they had entered the second tunnel. But that was about the only good thing about his condition. His arm was definitely broken, and something was wrong with his left leg. It wasn't broken, not exactly. But he couldn't walk on it without extreme pain and it pained him even when something touched his shinbone. The red haired girl had solved the problem by making a makeshift sling for his arm and a bracer for the leg. They had found some old metal beams laying around. And the redhead had taken off her coverall and torn it up for cloth. Underneath it she wore brown shorts and a brown short sleeved top with a red stripe down the front. Lelouch also noted that she had a small two way radio clipped to her belt along with a few other utilities but had no visible weapons on her. But then again, after what he had seen her do, he doubted she needed any.

Finally the girl was finished, Lelouch was somewhat recovered, and they were ready to set off again. Lelouch and the redhead supported Rivalz between them as the blue haired boy hobbled along, and the green haired girl led the way with a flashlight the redhead had given her.

For the first few minutes they proceeded in silence with only the sound of their footsteps for company. After a while though, Rivalz, who never could stay silent for long, spoke up in a tentative voice.

"My name is Rivalz" He found them looking at him. "What? I'm introducing myself. That's the best way to start a conversation"

"Conversation? Don't you think we have more important things to worry about at the moment?" The redhead scowled at him. Lelouch noted that this girl was almost perpetually angry, but maybe it's just the circumstances. He himself was under a lot of stress right now.

"Well it helps to at least know what to call each other right? It's not like we got anything else to do while walk" Rivalz responded ingeniously.

Lelouch nodded slightly. "Alright, I'm Lelouch"

"I'm Kallen" Said the redhead.

They all waited.

The green haired girl looked back over her shoulder at them all watching her. "What?"

"It's your turn" Rivalz supplied helpfully.

"I'm C.C" A moment later she added. "I like pizza"

"_What kind of name is that?_" Was the thought that went through everyone's head. Still they knew better than to question her about it. In the brief time they had been with her the girl had proved that she would answer absolutely no questions about herself, even when Kallen held her energized palm an inch from the girls face and threatened to blow her head off if she didn't talk. All she would say about herself was that she was "Used for an experiment by a team of scientists". In the end Kallen had given up and accepted that it was all they would find out for the moment.

"That's as good a name as any" Lelouch said after a while. "It's not like we can give our full names anyway"

"Yeah" Kallen agreed.

Another moment of silence later, Rivalz spoke up again "I like cinnamon buns"

"Bento" Said Kallen.

"Chocolate fudge" Lelouch admitted.

Awkward silence descended once more.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Rivalz tried again "I like gambling"

"Chess" Lelouch said to no ones surprise.

"Riding Knightmares" That was Kallen.

They waited again.

"Eating Pizza" C.C said without looking back or breaking stride.

They walked on in silence once more.

After a few more minutes of walking, Lelouch broke the silence this time. "Thank you for bringing Rivalz with you" He addressed Kallen who was supporting Rivalz's left side even now. "If you hadn't helped him" He left the words hanging.

In the mad scramble to run for the doorway when the first Knightmare was taken out by Kallen, Lelouch had picked up the first person he came across when he ran for the door. Of course that person had been C.C. Which meant that Rivalz had been left laying unconscious and helpless on the tunnel floor. Fortunately for the blue haired gambling fanatic, Kallen had picked him up on her own dash for the door. Otherwise he would have been caught up in the explosion and be an unrecognizable corpse by now.

"Yeah thanks. You like, totally saved my life" Rivalz looked a bit green as he contemplated what could have happened.

"It was nothing" Kellen looked down. "I just wish Nagatta" She gritted her teeth.

Rivalz looked at her worriedly, not knowing what to say. He had heard what happened from Lelouch, who would never be able to forget the image of the Japanese man taking the grenade and pressing it next to the truck's fuel tank.

"He was very brave" Even as he said them Lelouch could feel how inadequate the words were. "I'm sorry"

"It's alright" Kallen shook her head in semi-anger. "This isn't the first time it has happened"

"You mean this isn't the first time someone has blown himself..." Rivalz started.

"No you ididot!" Kallen snapped at him. A moment later she sighed. "I mean this isn't the first time someone had had to stay behind to make sure the others got away. In fact the time before this it was m...someone precious to me"

"Oh" Was all Rivalz could say.

Lelouch was silent as he contemplated what he had heard. He knew the Japanese people were brave. It was an ingrained part of their national character and partially a result of the martial culture that dominated the isles for centuries. It said quite a lot about them that they were still resisting the invader seven long years after the conquest. It was something someone like him found both admirable and useful.

A sudden burst of static from the Kallen's portable radio interrupted his thoughts once more. She immediately unclipped the device from her belt and stepped some distance away from them, unceremoniously dumping the full weight of the hobbling Rivalz on Lelouch as she quickly walked away.

Lelouch cursed as he struggled to keep from falling under Rivalz's sudden weight while C.C watched them in amusement and making no attempt whatsoever to help. Kallen stood a few feet away down the tunnel from the three of them, speaking in rapid fire Japanese to the radio in her hand. Rivalz couldn't speak Japanese. And C.C looked completely uninterested. But Lelouch was able to pick up about every third word Kallen said even though she kept her voice low, and what he heard worried him.

"It looks like we're not out of trouble yet" Kallen said as she came back to them after attaching the radio to her belt again.

"What...what do you mean?" Rivalz asked, looking apprehensive.

"I mean the Britannians have figured out that we are heading for the ghetto. The military has the entire place surrounded. They've brought Knightmareframes, VTOLS, Tanks, pretty much everything" She turned to C.C. "Whoever you are, whatever they were using you for, it is important enough for them to go this far just to get you back"

"You mean the Britannian military is searching the entire ghetto just to find one girl? That's, that's bizarre" Rivalz said in a tone of voice that was both amazed and almost disbelieving.

Kallen laughed bitterly. "Oh the they're not searching the Ghetto. They're sweeping the place clean. They're killing everyone"

* * *

Shinjuku Ghetto was a rundown mockery of what the Shinjuku Prefecture had once been when Japan was still free. Gutted buildings that had once been proud skyscrapers covered the skyline. Their doors and windows missing, their structure crumbling away after nearly a decade of neglect. The roads were pitted and littered with piles of refuse. It was in places like these that the Japanese people who were not fortunate enough to become Honorary Britannians were forced to make their homes. Theirs was a miserable lot, each day a struggle to find the bare necessities to survive and with no hope of betterment in the future. And now their lot had become a lot worse.

"They're killing everyone" The words echoed in his head as they exited the tunnel, and any doubts he had held were quickly dispelled by the distant sound of gunfire.

The streets of the ghetto were deserted. The people were gone, either escaped or in hiding. And Lelouch knew that they had to do the same if they hoped to come out of this alive. He voiced his thoughts, and Kallen quickly agreed with him, suggesting they go to an abandoned warehouse nearby that the residents of this place used as a meeting place and shelter. There the three non-combatants would find relative safety, and Kallen could leave them and try to meet up with the members of her resistance cell who were even now trying to hold off the military so the civilians can evacuate. Rivalz was more than happy to agree to the plan, no doubt as eager to get to safety as Lelouch was, while C.C had nodded her agreement with the same expressionless face she had worn since the moment he set eyes on her.

So with Kallen leading the way they moved through the ruined streets at a quick walk, ducking from building to building and keeping to the shadows and back alleys. Even with the need to keep the pace slow enough so that Rivalz could keep up with his injury, they managed to reach the warehouse in a remarkably short time.

But any hope they had had of finding shelter there was shattered the moment they stepped into the building.

"Oh my god" Rivalz choked out and was promptly sick.

The people of Shinjuku had come here for shelter all right, but the soldiers had managed to find the place as well.

The warehouse was littered with dead bodies. All of them Japanese civilians. Men and woman and children. Gunned down where they stood. Pools of crimson blood stained the floor, and files were buzzing around the dead even now. There were no signs that the civilians had been armed or had even tried to defend themselves. Most of them looked as if they had been killed while they tried to run. This had been a massacre.

Lelouch had to put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from throwing up like Rivalz, while Kallen was standing there with her fists clenched, her whole body shaking.

"Those bastards!" The red haired girl ground out through clenched teeth. "Those bastards! I will kill them! I will kill them all!" Suddenly she rounded on C.C so suddenly that Lelouch half stumbled back and Rivalz let out a little squeak. "You! You are the reason this is happening" She grabbed C.C by the front of her restraining suit and shook her. "What the hell are you? Why are they going this far to get you back?" The green haired girl remained completely unfazed in the face of the redheads furious anger. Her face not changing expression even once.

"Kallen" Lelouch hesitantly reached out for her. While behind him Rivalz practically covered in the face of her anger. "Kallen you have to calm down, we have no time for..."

"Shut up!" She rounded on him now. "What would you understand you Britannian..."

"Remember there are other people in mortal danger right now, people who still have a chance of survival!" Lelouch snapped, bringing the redhead up short. "You can still help them, you and your comrades. Grieve for these people after the others are safe, doing it now keeps you from helping the ones who need you"

Even though he spoke confidently, Lelouch was feeling the same emotions as Kallen inside. He had always known the empire did things like this. He had even heard the radio message Kallen had gotten not long ago. But to see it firsthand like this truly drove home to him just what Britannia was. Power that is corrupt. Unchangeable from within. But he also knew that giving into emotion right now was a bad idea.

Surprisingly enough Kallen actually calmed down somewhat from his words. "I...you're right. We have to help the people who are still alive" She let go of him and turned abruptly. "There is a basement in this place that someone could have used to hide in, I should check that" She was already walking away.

Lelouch gestured to C.C. "You should go with her just in case, you got the torch anyway" The green haired girl looked down at the flashlight she still held in her hand and nodded briefly, turning and following the redhead.

That left Lelouch and Rivalz alone in a warehouse full of corpses.

Rivalz was trying to look anywhere but at the corpses as he fidgeted and drew unsteady breaths. "Lelouch" He finally asked after a while. "Are we going to get out of this?"

"I don't see how" Lelouch replied a moment later, his voice quiet. "I'm sorry Rivalz"

"I...it's ok" Rivalz shook his head. "Who could have seen this coming"

Lelouch managed a small smile. "That's true" Then something hit him hard in the back of the head.

* * *

When he came to his senses again, his head hurting like someone had stepped on it, Lelouch found himself being restrained with his hands behind his back by a pair of Britannian soldiers.

Between his aching head and general shock, it took a moment for the situation to sink in. But when It did Lelouch knew they were in a great deal of trouble.

"Damn it" He thought furiously. "The soldiers who killed these people never left. They were in that basement doing god knows what when Kallen and C.C just wandered inside"

Both girls were in the same predicament as he was, with C.C being restrained by a bulky soldier alongside Rivalz and Kallen laying on an unconscious heap on the ground. The redhead hadn't moved since she was dragged up from the basement by the soldiers.

"Oh don't worry" The soldier holding him said when he noticed where Lelouch was looking. "We shot her with a tranquilizer, it'll be keeping her asleep for a while, but she's otherwise ok. We were told to bring you in unharmed, relatively"

"Unharmed" Lelouch looked disbelievingly at the scene of carnage around him and then back at the squad of soldiers, that didn't seem like standard Britannian modus operandi.

"Yes unharmed" Confirmed a soldier wearing a military trenchcoat under an officers uniform. "We have known for a while now that there were Espers working with the eleven rebels, and when your friend blew up imperial vehicles back there we were ordered to attempt to subdue the Esper and bring them in for interrogation" He thrust something at the boys face. "We have long suspected of a link between these rebel Espers and Academy City but there never was any proof, until now"

The officer was holding up their Student Identity cards. These were issued to every student of Academy City and students were always told to have them with them. With mounting horror Lelouch realized what the officer was implying. Kallen was an Esper, and both Lelouch and Rivalz were from a city that produced Espers. They had been found together in a place they had no right to be. The man had jumped to the obvious conclusion.

"But we're not" Even as he opened his mouth Lelouch realized that no one was going to believe their story of what had really happened. "With her" He finished lamely.

Predictably it had no results. "Save your breath" The officer snorted as Rivalz continued to plead their innocence in the background. "We will get the truth out of you soon enough. Besides there is the fact that you have found out about a highly classified experiment" He nodded at C.C. "And there is the fact that you are clearly from Academy City. His Highness himself had taken an interest in this affair, so much so that he ordered the Royal Guard deployed to secure the suspects" He smirked at the captives. "So you lot will be getting the royal treatment"

Lelouch's eyes widened. "_Clovis, they are going to take us to Clovis_" In that moment he felt true despair grip him. "_I'm done for_"

He looked at the rest of their little group, Rivalz who had seemed to have lost his voice at this latest revelation, Kallen who was still unconscious on the floor, and C.C who was looking at him intently. It wasn't just him either. They would all suffer. And at the very least it was his fault that Rivalz was here. And...Nunally. She was going to loose her big brother...

It was at that moment that C.C moved.

The green haired girl tore herself away from the grip of her captor with a violent jerk and launched herself at Lelouch. The surrounding soldiers responded to the move in the way they had been trained and a split second later a slew of bullets slammed into the girl and her lifeless bleeding body fell at Lelouch's feet.

Rivalz was screaming in the background and Lelouch himself shouted in shock at what he had just witnessed. He didn't know what was worse, seeing the girl shot down in front of him or her suicidal move.

"Shit, we were supposed to bring her in alive" The officer grumbled. "Well at least we still have the others. Bring them and the girls body, lets move out"

Just as the soldiers were dragging the two boys away and another was bending down to pick up Kallen the impossible happened.

C.C's hand moved and grabbed Lelouch by the ankle.

"_Lelouch_"

Lelouch looked down at the girl laying dead by his feet and his purple eyes widened with shock. He had heard C.C talking... As clearly as if she had been standing next to him.

"_Lelouch, you have given in to despair, you have given up_"

"_C.C? No impossible she's dead_"

"_If I gave you the power to save yourself, will you keep moving forward?_"

Suddenly they were no longer in the rundown warehouse. Lelouch looked around in astonishment to find himself in what looked like a temple suspended among the clouds, an open air platform half surrounded by a Greek style colonnade. And in front of the altar where the priestess would stand was the perfectly healthy and uninjured figure of the green haired girl whom he had seen shot dead only moments before.

"What the hell" was all Lelouch could manage at the moment.

"Do you want power Lelouch?" C.C asked as she approached him. "Power to strike down those soldiers? Power to make any wish you have come true?"

Lelouch stood stock still as she came up to him and lay her open palm upon his chest. "I will give you that power you seek, and in exchange you must promise to make my one wish come true. Are you prepared to accept the burden of wielding this power? Once you accept you will no longer be human. You will be a creature apart, doomed to be always alone"

And suddenly his minds eye was filled with visions. His mother laying dead in a pool of her own blood with his little sister in her arms. His fathers face supremely impassive as he pronounced their exile. The planet Jupiter looming above him, giant gas eye gearing down like the eye of a baleful god. Uncountable masses of faceless people crying out to the heavens. And above all, a sigil like a bird in flight beckoning him with it's promise of power.

Lelouch knew that there was only one choice for him.

All his life, he had been powerless.

All his life, he had been a walking corpse pretending to be alive.

He had hoped that in Academy City could give him what he sought, but he only found the ignominy of a level zero.

Lelouch drew himself up to his full height. "I accept!" The voice was measured and calm. "I hereby accept the terms of your contract!"

C.C almost smiled. "Then here is your power! The power of the kings!"

And Lelouch felt his mind sear as the power entered his body. It felt like both his body and mind were being broken down and rebuilt. The crimson bird like sigil appeared in his vision and grew until was all he could see before it vanished and searing, unbearable pain erupted in his left eye. And for just an instant, Charles Zi Britannia, the Ninety Eighth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, standing in a temple identical to the one in which he himself stood, the old man seemed to stare directly at Lelouch and smile. "A convergence with the Ragnorak connection? Is the time coming again?"

Then the visions started to fade and he once more became aware of the real world around him.

* * *

Back in the warehouse Lelouch opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the dead body of the green haired girl. He sent a silent thanks at her before raising his head and fixing his gaze on the Britannian officer. "Say I have a question for you. How should a Britannian who hates Britannia live?"

The man looked completely nonplussed. "Is this a confession?"

Lelouch's voice was full of contempt. "You have power and you choose to abuse it and act like you stand above retribution. Well let me tell you something. The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed!" The soldiers were staring at him with expressions that suggested that they thought he had lost his mind.

His next words wiped those expressions from their faces. "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you! All you soldiers, die!"

The soldiers saluted as one man. "Yes your highness!"

Then, in perfect parade ground precision they drew their sidearms, aimed them at their temples, and fired.

"Bang!"

The bodies hit the floor almost at the same time.

Lelouch turned his head slightly and caught the eye of the soldier still holding him. The man was staring at him with an expression of abject horror written on his face, like he was seeing a demon come to life. "You too, die"

The soldier let go of him and saluted. "Yes your highness!"

"Bang!"

Blood splatter from the soldiers head wound landed on Lelouch's face, but he payed it no mind. His purple eyes took in the scene before him. The dead Japanese, the dead soldiers, the dead C.C, the unconscious Kallen and Rivalz who was fallen to his knees and was staring at him and shaking like a leaf. A feral, maniac grin formed on Lelouch's face.

"Well then"

* * *

_end of chapter 2 and the true start of the story._

_This is where the story truely kicks off, Lelouch gains his power, meets a few important characters and plays some chess. Notice i deviated from cannon a bit by having Rivalz along for the ride. I plan to get the minor characters from both universes more involved in the story as it goes on. Also I will be giving the Geass powers themselves a little twist. They will be revealed in the fourth chapter. The next update of course will be the Battle of Shinjuku, INDEX style. :)_

_PS: I'm stil suffereing from writers block about my other Geass/Fate crossover story. So I brainstormed a lot of ideas and mapped out the possibilities and outcomes of mixing the worlds of geass and index to make sure it won't happen with this one. Hopefully I can keep the chapters coming at a regular shedule. _

_PPS: Thanks for everyone who pointed out the spelling mistake with the Big brother/Big sister words._


	4. Chapter 3: Shinjuku

_The latest chapter is ready. _

* * *

Chapter 3: Shinjuku

* * *

"Well then" Lelouch grinned like a maniac at the sight of the carnage he had wrought with a simple command.

The abandoned warehouse was filled with the dead.

The murdered Japanese, his would be murderes, and C.C who had died giving him this power. Of the living only himself and Rivalz were left conscious. Kallen was still laying where the soldiers had dropped her, looking for all the world like another corpse. Only the slight rise and fall of her chest that he could still see told him that she still lived. Lelouch started toward her to check if she was okay, but his attention was diverted by his blue haired friend who still hadn't moved from where he was sitting.

"Lelouch you...you're" Rivalz was having trouble getting the words out.

Lelouch sighed. Yes he was going to have to do some explaining soon. But hopefully it can wait till they were safe away from here.

"Come on get up, we're safe for now" Lelouch held out his hands to Rivalz and helped him to his feet.

"Lelouch, you...you were hiding an ability?" Rivalz was still staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers.

"No I wasn't. Until two minutes ago I was a Level Zero" Under the circumstances, he felt it best to be honest.

"Wha...but, but how did you suddenly use an ability? Did the fear of death unlock it or something?" Rivalz was only getting more confused.

"That's not it either. It...it's complicated" Lelouch finally settled for the most confusing answer possible.

"Uh" Clearly Rivalz wanted him to elaborate, but he let it rest for now and moved on to the next question. "And your name...you're really a..."

Lelouch let out another long sigh. "Look Rivalz, now really isn't the time for this. I promise to answer all your questions _once we are safe away from here_. Just bare with me for now okay"

Rivalz opened his mouth, closed it again, looked at him for a long moment, and nodded. "Okay. I guess now might not be the best time for this. But please explain things to me soon Lelouch, I'm like, really confused right now"

"Thanks Rivalz" Lelouch nodded. "Now lets see how Kallen is doing"

"She's going to be okay right? Those guys said they only wanted to capture her" Rivalz hobbled behind him as Lelouch walked over to crouch next to the unconscious girl.

"Yes, and they had no reason to lie to us. But that still leaves us without her protection and stranded in the middle of a war zone. Unless we get her on her feet again" Lelouch felt the girls pulse and tried slapping her face, but couldn't wake her. It looked as if whatever drug she had been given was designed to keep her under for a while. "Damn, well at least things can't get any worse than this"

RUMBLE!

The words had barely left his mouth when a knightmare bulldozed it's way into the warehouse, a huge gaping hole left in one of the buildings walls to mark it's entry point. It was a Sunderland class, it's blocky humanoid shape painted a pale purple, with it's shoulder armor painted a blood red. The sounds of falling rubble and Rivalz shouting and falling on his ass filled the air. A factsphere emerged from the knightmare's elongated head and scanned the surroundings while it's hands leveled a massive assault rifle at the two schoolboys.

"You have got to be joking!" Lelouch yelled incredulously. "No one gets this unlucky!"

* * *

A long way away back in Academy City, a certain spiky haired boy was sitting in class half asleep when he suddenly came awake with a start.

"I think I heard someone complain about misfortune" he muttered absently.

"Kamijou-chan! No sleeping in class or I'll have you in for remedial lessons!" The teacher announced cheerfully.

"Such misfortune"

* * *

"What happened here?" A harsh female voice bellowed over the machines speakers. "What happened to the Royal Guard? What are a pair of students doing in a place like this?"

A burst of fire from it's assault rifle emphasized the questions. The bullets stitching a line into the wall behind the boys and causing Rivalz to yell once more in fright. Lelouch simply stood immobile, glaring daggers at the mech.

"Get out of there!" The command was delivered with absolute confidence. The voice of a king who had the utter and complete obedience of his subjects.

It had no effect.

"Who do you think you are?" The pilot shouted back, more than a little anger in her voice.

Lelouch blinked, while Rivalz simply gaped.

"_Eye contact, it has to be eye contact_" Lelouch decided. He had had to give the suicide order twice as well. Once to the soldiers in front of him and the second one to the guy who had been standing behind him. Both times he had caught their eyes.

Lelouch renewed his glare and stepped forward carefully to shield Rivalz from the knightmares view, hopefully his friend would catch what he's doing and play along. "My name is Alan Spacer. My father is a duke! I request your protection!"

"Nobility?" The pilot muttered over the speakers, forgetting herself for a moment.

Lelouch stood without the slightest hint of nervousness or deception about him. Every inch the noble he had proclaimed himself to be. It was a good thing that the knowledge of how to act like a blue blooded noble had been pounded into him in his childhood. No matter how long it has been, old habits die hard, and he unconsciously slipped into the character as he called the knightmare out. The posture, the tone of voice the expression, the subtle hints in body language that serving to convince the pilot that yes, his story is true.

"Identification?" The pilot demanded.

"Upper breast pocket" Came the swift reply.

Now was the moment of truth. If the pilot refused to emerge from the knightmare, they were done for. But if his gamble worked and they actually did...He was banking on the fact that the high nobility was a law unto itself in colonies like this. Power plays and intrigues plagued every branch of the government, even the armed services. And a heaven sent opportunity to curry favour with a duke would be foolish to over look.

"Keep your hands where I can see them both of you. I will verify your identity myself"

Lelouch struggled to hide his relief as he raised his hands above his head. Behind him, Rivalz had caught up to what was happening and did his best to do the same.

The cockpit in the back of the knightmare slid open and the pilot emerged. A young woman with silver hair and chocolate brown skin, the rank tabs on her uniform marking her as a major. She carefully kept her sidearm trained on them both as she disembarked and walked towards them.

Lelouch caught her eye and smiled.

* * *

The G1 mobile base was a byproduct of the Knightmare era. It served a dual purpose as both Knightmare transport and mobile command center for the Britannian army. And it was literally a fortress on tracks, with Knightmare hangers, medical bay and control room contained withing it's armored hull. The only such unit in service in Area Eleven was currently overseeing operations at Shinjuku Ghetto, guarded by both squads of Knightmares and infantry troopers. The control room of the G1 resembled the bridge of a battleship, with communications and sensor consoles being manned by officers seated in front of them while a group of ranking officers were clustered around a digital map projected onto a table at the center of the room. The map gave a real time view of the battlefield, with the locations of every Knightmare, VTOL, Tank and Infantry squad marked with little locator icons. They abruptly ceased their conversation and came to attention as Prince Clovis La Britannia strode into the room, General _Bartley_ Asprius waddling along in his wake.

Clovis dismissed their salutes with a wave of his hand and asked the question that was foremost in his mind. "How close are we to recovering the project?"

"The leak has been contained your highness" An officer with a colonel's rank tabs said. "We have all exits out of the Ghetto blocked and are even now moving to silence the numbers"

"Good" Clovis walked over to the table and glared down at the map of the Ghetto. He could see the blue locator beacons of multiple units encircling the area. "I was told that the Elevens used the old subway tunnels to escape last time, what are you planning to do if they try to use them to get through the encirclement?"

"We are prepared your highness" Another officer answered. "We have the old subway maps and units are blocking off all the tunnel exits. The Elevens aren't going anywhere"

"Good, and the media"

"We have imposed a blackout" The colonel who spoke first volunteered. "The poison gas..."

"Is what we are telling the public" Clovis finished for him. "We can't have word of this getting out"

"Understood your highness"

"And what progress has been made towards recovering the objective?" Clovis inquired.

The officers around the table shared an uneasy glance.

Clovis frowned. "Well?"

Eventually one officer finally spoke up in a hesitant tone. "We got a message from one of the royal guard squads a little while ago your highness, they reported that they had secured the objective"

"Excellent" Clovis looked suspiciously at the officer. "If that is the case then why are you so nervous"

"That wasn't the only news your highness, according to him she was with a group of insurgents who turned out to be Espers, and he said they had found solid proof that they were from Academy City"

"What? Espers from Academy City? And they had positive proof? Well where are they now?" Clovis demanded, his voice going up with every word. "This is a god-send, this what I have been waiting for for years, _where are they_?"

"Ah" The officer was sweating. "The last radio message said they had subdued the entire group and were bringing them to the G1, but..." His voice trailed off.

"But?" Clovis mimicked him, a dangerous edge to his voice.

The poor officer took a deep breath before blurting out all the bad news in one go. "But we...we lost contact with the entire team moments later your highness. When we failed to raise them we ordered a Knightmare to the scene to investigate but...we seem to have lost contact with the Knightmare as well, it's IFF has disappeared" The men gathered around the table cringed anticipating the princes wrath.

"You incompetent..." Words failed Clovis as he pounded his fist against the table. "If they find out the details about the project, or if those Espers manage to smuggle her out of the encirclement and get her back into their city" Clovis took several deep calming breaths before he spoke again. "This operation has now moved into the next level, I'm taking personal command of our forces"

"Yes your highness!"

* * *

"Where the hell am I?" Was the first coherent question Kallen could come up with.

The last thing she remembered was going down into the basement of that abandoned warehouse with the green haired girl, C.C. Then nothing at all until she woke up with a splitting headache and with her entire body feeling sluggish and stiff. A confusing babble of voices and blurry images had assaulted her senses, eventually resolving into a group of Japanese civilians dressed in ragged cloths and carrying their worldly possessions with them.

The Japanese woman who was kneeling next to her answered her with a placating smile. "You were left with us by two boys in school uniforms. They said you were a member of the resistance and that we were to take care of you to the best of our ability till you recovered"

"Wha...?" Kallen held her aching head in her hands as she tried to process this. "You agreed to it? Just took their word for it? A pair of Britannian students? And I myself look Britannian. How in hell did they mange to convince you"

The woman kept smiling "Oh they just told us you were a member of the resistance and that we were to take care of you to the best of our ability till you recovered"

"Yeah but if you just took their word for it" Kallen shook her head. "Whatever, where are we?"

"In an old movie theater near the center of the ghetto" A middle aged man answered as he walked up to them. "We had to keep moving to avoid the army. But we made sure to bring you with us and keep you safe, because we were told that you were a member of the resistance and that we were to take care of you to the best of our ability till you recovered"

Kallen was still feeling woozy as she stuggled to her feet and checked her body for injuries "Okay, fine, does anyone know what happened to me?" She was more or less okay, only a few bruises and the stiffness that was rapidly leaving her body.

"You were attacked by Britannian soldiers and shot with a tranquilizer dart, but the boys managed to get you away and bring you to us"

"Whoa, this keeps getting weirder and weirder. How in the world did those two manage to get me away from a bunch of soldiers? And what about C.C? Was there a green haired girl with them?"

"No there were just the two boys, they told us that you were a member of the resistance and that we were to take care of you to the best of our ability till you recovered" The middle aged man smiled pleasantly at her.

"...Right" Kallen said after a pause. "Well I'll be out of your hair soon, just give me a moment"

A quick check confirmed that she still had all her equipment, including the radio strapped to her belt. She waved at the couple to step away from her and activated the device, listening to the chatter coming from it to get an idea of the situation in the ghetto and where her comrades were.

"This doesn't look good" She muttered as she clipped the radio to her belt again. In the time she had been unconscious, the army had managed to heard the civilians further and further into the center of the ghetto where they will finally end up trapped with no place to flee to. Her resistance cell was being driven back with them, barely managing to slow down the Britannian advance.

"I've got to get out there" Kallen muttered, her face set and all thoughts of how she had ended up here driven from her mind. "Thanks for the help all of you, I got to get back to my friends now, stay safe" She waved a goodbye at the people thronged in the ruined theater before making her way to the exit.

* * *

A Sunderland class knightmare maneuvered it's way carefully through the ghetto, it's red shoulder pads indicating that it belonged to a member of the pure blood faction. But the cockpit of this knightmare was occupied by a pair of teenagers wearing school uniforms. One of them was piloting the machine while another identically dressed teen with his broken left arm in a makeshift sling was crammed uncomfortably into the cockpit, half sitting on the pilots lap.

"Do you think Kallen will be ok?" Rivalz asked as Lelouch maneuvered the mech into the shelter of an abandoned building and checked the knightmare's tactical display.

"She should be. I gave precise instructions to those people we left her with. They will ensure her safety till she regains consciousness. Once she wakes up she can take care of herself" Lelouch answered while still checking the digital map.

"Yeah I guess. That just leaves us to worry about"

"Yes and it doesn't look good for us" Lelouch said with a grim look on his face.

"What do you mean?" Rivalz peered at the display. Though he couldn't make much sense out of the moving symbols and their designations.

"Look" Lelouch indicated triangular shaped symbols that were arrayed in groups all around the edges of the map. "These are knightmares and those are infantry units" He pointed out a set of rectangular symbols. "They are placed at strategic locations all around the ghetto. Completely encircling it. Trying to fight our way past them with only a single kmf is impossible. And we have already found that my ability won't work unless I have eye contact"

"But come on, you've made fools of Britannian Nobles before" Rivalz protested.

"Rivalz, those nobles were fools who assumed that the army's invincibility also applied to them. This is the Britannian army. This is the real thing. The military machine that has conquered over a third of the globe and has remained undefeated in battle in our lifetimes. They are efficient, they are ruthless and they won't make mistakes"

"What about the tunnels we used to get in here? Can't we sneak out through those?" Rivalz asked, his voice and expression both becoming increasingly worried.

"The army have them all covered" Lelouch tapped the comm bead in his ear that he had taken from the dead royal guard officer. "They're expecting the civilians to use them to escape. If the the poor bastards do use them they'll run into a deathtrap"

"Man that's not fair! We just barely escaped getting killed so many times only to be trapped here? There's got to be something we can do" Rivalz yelled in frustration. "And you somehow managed to get an ability too, that's got to count for something right?"

"Yes" Lelouch stared at the formations of knightmares on the tactical map, mind working furiously as he thought of a way to defeat them with just one knightmare and his new found ability.

"Hey Rivalz" Lelouch spoke up after a few moments went by in silence. "We always go on and on about how we don't care if we are Level Zero. We crack jokes when Shirley scolds us for not giving it our best and tell her that we are happy as we are. We skip system scans and power development classes and go gambling. We act like we don't give a damn. But that's not really the truth is it? We do care, we care a lot" He turned to see Rivalz looking at him oddly. "Come, you have just learned one of my most well kept secrets, so I decided it's time I was honest with you. Return the favor Rivalz, be honest with me"

Rivalz closed his eyes and rubbed his face. "All right then, I'll be honest" Rivalz looked at Lelouch wearing an expression he had never shown before. "I do care. I care a lot. I came to Academy City to become an esper man, my family was so proud of me on and all the friends at my old school were dead jealous of me. And then I come here and I end up a Level Zero" Rivalz smiled sadly. "It hurts buddy. When those stuck up espers are flaunting their abilities in the corridors. When all the girls drool over the high levels. I feel like...well you can guess how I feel"

"Yeah" Lelouch stared down at his hands. "Here's another bit of honesty. When I first came to Academy City there it was partly because I wanted to become a powerful ESPer. I though that if I could just do that, achieving rest of my ambitions will be easy. And for seven long years I knew nothing other than the humiliation of being a Level Zero" He made air quotes around the term 'Level Zero'. "When I visited my sister at Tokiwadai it used to make me furious, seeing all these Level Three's and Level Four's goofing around and doing nothing with the power they had been blessed with. I thought that if only I had an ability, I wouldn't be like that, I will do...great things" He smiled bitterly at Rivalz. "But now I do have an ability. Something I have prayed for seven long years, but I feel...no different than before" He shook his head. "I have an ability, but still the challenges surrounding us seem impossible. We saw that my ability needs eye contact to work. What can I do with it against a man in a Knightmare? Hell what can I do with it against a soldier in a covered helmet. Maybe if my ability was more combat based we might have had a better shot at this..."

"Don't talk like that!" Rivalz spoke up, his voice surprisingly firm. "Yeah you finally gained an ability. And yeah you need to make eye contact to make it work. But who cares about that!" Rivalz held Lelouch's eyes with his own, his usually friendly face dead serious. "That Kallen girl had a combat based ability didn't she. What was she able to do against a single squad of soldiers?"

"They took her by..."

"That's not the point!"Rivalz overrode Lelouch. "The fact is they defeated her. Yes they did it by a surprise attack, but they still took her out and she wasn't able to do anything to stop them. Do you think those Tokiwadai o_jou_-_sama_'s will do any better if they were dumped into the middle of this? Do you? Sure they might take down a couple of these things with their 'combat based' abilities, but sooner or later these guys will shoot them full of holes!" Rivalz slammed an angry fist into the side of the knightmare's cockpit. "You said it yourself. It's impossible to fight our way out of this. So what if we can't fight? We can still _outsmart_ them. Yes we're talking about outsmarting the freaking Britannian Army! But that's not impossible! And you don't need any ability to do that, you just need a genius!" Lelouch's eyes widened. "And we already have one of those! We had him all along, even before you gained your ability"

"Rivalz" Lelouch was staring at his blue haired friend fora long moment as if he'd never really seen him before. Minutes went by in uncomfortable silence as Rivalz started to loose some of his confidence and began to shift uncomfortably under Lelouch's gaze. Then he started to chuckle. The chuckles went on until they grew into full blown laughter. Rivalz watched in growing alarm as the laughter continued until Lelouch had thrown his head back and was laughing like a maniac.

"Oh Rivalz" Lelouch gasped out after he had managed to calm down, though his body still shook with repressed chuckles. "You really are a genius yourself"

"Wha...? No I'm not" The blue haired boy started to protest indignantly. But Lelouch waved a placating hand while smiling. "You really are you know. You have a knack for seeing right into the heart of a problem. And" He let out another little laugh. "You have a knack for knocking common sense into idiots like me" Rivalz let out a little embarrassed chuckle at that.

Lelouch stared down at the tactical display of the knightmare and his expression was firm. "You're right of course. You're right about everything. I was whining about not having an ability for seven years. And when I finally do gain one I start to whine about how it's not combat oriented. And all this time it didn't really matter" He suddenly let out another chuckle. "Hell Rivalz, those stuck up espers back in Academy City were right all along, Your level doesn't matter, your ability doesn't matter, because..." He turned to smirk at his blue haired friend. "You don't need an esper power to kick some ass. You and I are living proof of that" His smirk grew wider at Rivlaz's confused look. "Think about it, they told us that it was impossible for a student to sneak out of Academy City unless you were at least a Level Four teleporter, we proved them wrong! They told us that it was impossible to beat those nobles at chess unless you were a telepath, we proved them wrong!" Rivalz was starting to grin as Lelouch continued talking. "They told us that you'd have to be a Level Five to escape from Milly Ashford's cross dressing ball, we proved them wrong!" Rivalz started to laugh. "If someone could see us right now, they might also say that it's impossible for two schoolboys to escape from this deathtrap. But we will prove them wrong!" Lelouch clenched his fists, his voice rising in volume and loosing all humor. "And we're not just going to escape. There are others trapped here with us. Other innocents being murdered as we speak. We are going to help them too. I'm done making excuses. I'm done running. I am going to start fighting. And I'm going to start right now!"

* * *

Back in Academy City, the Students of Tokiwadai Middle School were having their lunch break.

Nunnally and Alice were sitting at one of the outdoor tables and enjoying their lunch when Nunnally suddenly froze like a hound catching a scent, her hand that had been about to pop a piece of carrot into her mouth freezing in mid motion.

The next instant she let out a squeal and was shaking Alice by the shoulders. "Alice-chan! Alice-chan! I think Onii-sama just went up another level in bad ass!"

"Lord save me from obsessive big brother complexes" Alice sighed as she tried to calm her friend down.

* * *

Sometime later, back in the G1 mobile base, a radio operator sitting in the command room was startled as one of the emergency channels crackled to life.

"This is Squad B Third company! Our squad was ambushed by an enemy we suspect is an ESPer and took heavy casualties! Requesting immediate extraction! Repeat, we have taken heavy casualties and require immediate extraction!"

That got the attention of the entire control room.

Prince Clovis La Britannia shot a murderous glare at the sweating senior officers in the room before turning to the radio operator. "Find out their location and the details of the engagement" Clovis snapped out.

The operator jumped to obey. "Squad B, give us your location and details of your engagement"

"We are at point 23,45! Our squad was ambushed by a single female enemy we suspect is an ESPer who shot a red energy beam out of her hand. Our unit took heavy casualties and we had to fall back! Only two of us are left!"

"Acknowledged, is your location secure?"

"Fairly"

"We're dispatching reinforcements to your location. Sit tight"

"Acknowledged, Squad B out!"

"Well" Prince Clovis said after the exchange with the luckless soldiers was over. "Now we know that the ESPer or ESPers are still active in the battlefield. They took down the Royal Guard, they took down the Knightmare you sent, and they went on to butcher other Britannian soldiers. They are dangerous. We're not taking any chances with them this time" He tapped his chin with the fingers of one hand as he contemplated the battlefield map once more.

"Your highness, what do you plan to do?" General Bartley asked his prince, him being the only man among the command staff who could speak up without angering Clovis right now.

"Send Sir Eugene and Sir Valarie to the location of the ESPer sighting. Have Sir Globe and Sir Huge cover them from a distance. If the ESPers are there they won't be able to resist attacking a lone Knightmare team. As soon as they do we will get a fix on their location. And as soon as we have that, we will call and air strike on their heads. That way there will be no mistakes"

"Your Highness, you plan to use a Knightmare team as a lure?" One of the braver officers spoke up. "We know that ability is powerful enough to destroy a Knightmare. The ESPer has already taken out a Knightmare in the tunnel"

"Sometimes you have to give up a piece to capture a piece, as the Second Prince is fond of saying" Clovis held the mans eye. "See that it's done"

"Yes your highness!"

"And have those two soldiers extracted as quickly as possible and fully debriefed. Their information of the enemy will undoubtedly help us"

"Yes your highness!"

* * *

Lelouch flicked a switch on the helmet he was wearing and switched off the built in radio.

The helmet, and the accompanying uniform he was wearing, had both recently belonged to a soldier of Squad B. Next to him Rivalz was dressed in a similar uniform and with the damage his body had already taken, managed to make a very convincing injured soldier.

"Well that's that" Lelouch said as he moved to crouch down behind his friend as they took cover behind a pile of fallen rubble. "If you want to back out of this Rivalz, now is the time to do so"

"No" Rivalz shook his head, a very un-Rivalz like serious expression on his face. "I'll back you up and do my best to help. I just don't think I can...I can"

"It's alright" Lelouch assured him. "You won't have to shed blood if all goes to plan. The entire point of this strategy is to minimize the amount of blood that must be shed. But your help will be vital to clear the initial conditions"

"I won't let you down" Rivalz promised.

"Thank you Rivalz" Lelouch fell silent as the helmet mounted radio crackled to life once more. "They have dispatched an APC unit to retrieve us, get ready!"

"Got it!"

* * *

Kaname Ohgi crouched behind a section of destroyed wall with other members of resistance cell, hands tightly clutching his assault rifle, a weapon that felt wholly inadequate against the enemy they were facing.

"I think we lost them, man that was close" Panted Yoshitaka Minami, a bespectacled and blue haired Japanese man who had a rocket launcher slung across his back.

If they had been facing a force that consisted of only conventional tanks, they could have easily kept them at bey for a while with their rocket launchers, at least until they ran out of rockets. An urban environment gave them the advantage over tanks that had never been intended for this kind of fighting. But knightmares made it a whole different ball game. A knightmare not only packed the fire power of a battle tank. But it's maneuverability was leaps and bounds beyond the tracked war machines. The speed of the knightmare along with the evasive maneuvers it was capable of made it near impossible to get a fix on it unless you had a guided missile. The rebels only chance at defeating them was to use carefully planned ambushes and strike from the knightmares blind side.

Ohgi and his rag tag group of rebels had been doing precisely that until now, but with very little success. The Britannian knightmares always worked in teams and never let themselves get blindsided. They had been lucky to escape from the last ambush attempt with their lives.

"Dammit! At this rate we're can barely slow them down!" Ohgi cursed.

"We're not done yet!" Minami unslung his rocket launcher and started the laborious process of reloading it with the help of another resistance member. "Come on, we can circle around and take them in another ambush"

RUMBLE!

The sudden noise from behind caused them both to spin around, just in time to see the wall of the building behind them _explode_ outwards as a pair of Sunderland knightmares burst through the flying rubble and dust.

"We've been ambushed ourselves!" Ohgi hollered as the giant war machines brought their weapons to bear on the rebels. Beside Ohgi, Minami started to bring his rocket launcher to bear, but Ohgi knew he would never get the bulky weapon aimed in time. "No!"

That was when a blazing red beam of energy came out of nowhere and struck the closest knightmare and the machine melted like putty before exploding in a ball of fire. An instant later another identical beam stuck the second knightmare and it shared the fate of it's partner.

Ohgi stared in mute astonishment, too stunned for any movement.

Minami was trembling heavily and still clutching the rocket launcher.

The rest of their group was no better, most of them could do little more than gape at the wreckage of the destroyed knightmares, unable to quite grasp that they had managed to avoid almost certain death.

"I thought we were goners" Ohgi finally managed.

"Yeah" Minami agreed, trying to stop the shaking in his limbs as he forced him self to stand. "Was that?"

"Kallen" Ohgi finished for him.

He was already moving at a quick run to the location the energy beams had come from. Gesturing for the rest of his comrades to follow. A still shivering Minami followed at a slower pace, hampered both by the weight of the weapon he carried and shaky legs, while the rest of the group aged behind.

They found the red haired girl on her hands and knees on the ground, panting and shivering.

"Kallen! Are you ok? Kallen!" Ohgi crouched down beside her and helped her to a sitting position. Concern was written all over his face as he gazed at the girl.

"I'm fine Ohgi, really I'm fine" She pushed his hands away and tried to struggle to her feet. "It's just a reaction from using my ability twice with no cool-down time. I'll be okay in a minute"

"Kallen, you can seriously hurt yourself if you aren't careful how you use your power, who knows what over using an ESPer power can do to you" Ohgi grabbed her shoulders and firmly pushed her back, preventing her from standing up.

"If I hadn't done it you'd all be dead!" Kallen snapped, reluctantly sitting down again.

"You got him there" Minami said as he and the rest of the group crowded around them. "Thanks for saving our asses Kallen" The rest of the group muttered agreement.

"You're welcome" Kallen managed a smile.

"How did you find us anyway?" Ohgi asked after he had gotten her to sit down till she had recovered. "We tried to contact you several times but you never answered, we had almost started to think something had happened to you"

By way of answer Kallen held up her radio. "Sorry about not being here sooner, I was kind of unconscious"

"What?" The question came simultaneously from several people.

"Yeah it's a weird story. But let me give you the short version"

* * *

Back in the G1 command center, one of the soldiers at the radar console turned and all but shouted at the superior officers behind him.

"Your highness! We have the location of an ESPer attack, point 35,67! They took out Globe Squad with some kind of energy beam!"

"What! How did they move so fast?" One balding colonel shouted. "Squad B reported them at point 23,45 only twenty minutes ago!"

"They must have some means of moving fast. Maybe they took a subway tunnel, or they might even have a teleporter! The Royal Guard squad reported multiple ESPers before we lost contact!" Another officer shouted back.

"Who cares how they got there? Call an air strike on that location! Don't give them time to move again!" Prince Clovis shouted over the din.

"Yes your highness!"

"Belay that order" The voice came from the back of the room, and for a second the entire roomful of people were stunned into silence.

No one in the government of Area Eleven would have dared to override a direct order from the viceroy like that. Not unless they were feeling suicidal. Clovis, for all his obsession with art and foppish appearance, suffered no challenges to his authority.

But what they saw when they turned to face the source of the voice was even more shocking.

Soldiers were filing into the room, dressed in the combat uniform of Britannian infantry and with combat rifles already aimed at the occupants of the room.

"What is the meaning of this!" General Bartley spluttered in amazed outrage as the soldiers fanned out in a half circle, their weapons covering every high ranking officer in the room. "Do you have any idea what you are doing? Do you have any idea what the consequences will be?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing" A soldier answered as he stepped out from among the crowd. He was dressed identically to the others in combat uniform but for one difference. The goggles that were normally a part of the helmet had been removed, revealing a pair of piercing purple eyes that glared from above the gas mask that still obscured the lower half of his face. "Now please remove everyone except Prince Clovis from the room, I will be with you in a minute after the prince and I have a little chat"

Clovis watched in impotent anger as the officers and control room staff were herded outside at gun point. Soon the only ones left in the control room were himself and the soldier who appeared to be the leader of this group of traitors. The soldier withdrew a pistol from his belt and motioned with it to the throne like command chair and Clovis obligingly sat down. He wasn't overly worried yet. He knew that as an Imperial Prince he was fairly safe. Even if he was caught in a potential coup he was more valuable to them alive than dead. And the empire took a very dim view of anyone shedding royal blood. Only the suicidal, or the very stupid would try it.

"So, care to tell me what this madness is about?" Clovis was proud that his voice never trembled. "Coup d'État? Did the Pure bloods put you up to this? Or are you assassins? Whoever you are, you must realize that you won't be coming out of this alive"

"Three out of three sticks your highness" The masked soldier answered, an amused ring in this voice. "In truth this is a strategy called the spearhead" He gestured to the giant screen that showed a map of the battlefield. "When the enemy has you outnumbered and outgunned, facing him in a stand up fight is pointless. But if you launch a single surgical strike at the enemy command element, it could turn the tide of the entire battle in an instant"

The implications froze Clovis. "You...you're with the Elevens" This time his voice trembled.

"The Japanese Rebels" The soldier corrected, his gun coming up to aim at Clovis. "Now please call a ceasefire your highness. Order the immediate withdrawal of all Britannian forces from the ghetto. Order them to shed no more blood today. Order them to provide medical help to all the wounded, be they Britannian or Japanese. Refuse to comply, and I will be forced to use this" He held up the pistol.

Clovis obeyed the instructions to the letter. Fear of death making for a strong motivator. He was no longer so certain that the soldier would leave him unharmed after all this was over. While it's true that most Britannians, even ones who were making power grabs and fomenting rebellion, would hesitate to kill an Imperial Prince, an Eleven sympathizer was a different story. He wouldn't have any qualms about killing an imperial prince. In fact he might see it as the perfect opportunity to serve his cause.

"Thank you your highness" The soldier said as Clovis finished ordering the ceasefire returned to his seat. In a testament to the prince's acting ability, he had given the order in the regal and commanding voice he always used, and no hint or inflection betrayed the fact that a man was holding a gun to his head at the time.

"Well is that all?" Clovis asked when moments passed in silence. "Do you want me to do anything else? Sing a song for you? Dance a jig? Maybe a game of chess to pass the time?"

To his utter surprise the soldier started chuckling at that. "Now that brings back memories. We used to play together all the time. Back in Aries Villa" Clovis felt his eyes widen at that. The only people who played chess with him at Aries had been... "And yet you never managed to defeat me did you? No matter how many times you played. And from the look of things you haven't improved. You've had seven years to practice, but I manged to beat you in a single move today"

"No way..." Clovis was in shock. "Impossible..."

By way of answer the soldier pulled off his helmet, and Clovis stared at the face of a dead man.

"Lelouch?" The words were a whisper, but they were audible.

"Indeed. The eldest child of the late Imperial Consort Marianne vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Realm and Seventeenth Heir to the Throne. Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service" Lelouch gave a mocking half bow, all the while keeping the pistol aimed at Clovis.

"Your alive?" Clovis was starting to doubt his sanity.

"Yes brother, I have risen from the grave. I have returned to change...everything!"

Clovis was having trouble thinking straight. On the one hand, the brother he had believed to be dead stood here before him, very much alive. On the other hand, said brother was aiming a gun at his face and had barged in here at the head of a squad of soldiers who had had no qualms about leveling their weapons at the their superior officers and even a prince. And, Clovis remembered with a wince, the circumstances of Lelouch's parting from the royal family hadn't exactly been friendly. He would have little reason to love them. He would instead have a lot of reasons to hold a grudge against them.

"How did you get those soldiers to follow you?" Clovis asked for lack of anything else to say.

Lelouch smirked. "You will see for yourself. I have a few questions for you Clovis" A red bird like sigil appeared in his left eye. "You will answer all questions I have truthfully until I say otherwise!"

Clovis's face went slack as the ability took hold. "Yes, I will"

"Seven years ago, my mother, Empress Marianne vi Britannia, was assassinated. Gunned down in her own home, while surrounded by the best security in the empire. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I know the truth! You people killed my mother! You may have hidden the truth then, but the truth cannot be hidden from me any longer! Tell me! By whose hand was she slain?" Lelouch's voice rose in volume with every word, bringing back memories he had kept buried for years, and with them came the anger, the hurt and the overwhelming hate he felt towards the killers and the pure contempt he felt towards the uncaring emperor. His final words were a shout, and the hand that held his pistol was trembling.

"I don't know" Clovis said in a perfectly emotionless voice, showing no raction at all to Lelouch's anger.

"What? You useless..." Lelouch felt anger spike inside him. "Who would know then? Can you at least tell me that?"

"My bother and sister, Second Princess Cornelia and Second Prince Schneizel. Thet might know"

"They did it?" Clovis remained silent. "I see. That's all you know. Well it's better than nothing. That will do" Letting his ability end.

With a start Clovis came back to himself. "What do you mean? What questions?"

"You already answered them" Lelouch smirked at Clovis's confusion. "You don't remember answering them. It seems to be a side effect of my ability"

Clovis wasn't slow on the uptake by any means. He was actually quite intelligent. He just had the misfortune to be born alongside genius siblings who made him look stupid by comparison. So it took him only a second or two to figure out what that meant. "Ability? Academy City, that's where you have been. You're an ESPer"

"Only half right Clovis, but yes I have been living in Academy City with Nunnally" Lelouch looked from his gun to Clovis. He knew what had to be done now. But for some reason he was hesitating. Clovis was a despicable person. He had approved human experiments. He had ordered the death of innocent civilians just to protect his dirty little secret. He deserved death. But, he was also his brother. And at the end of the day, Lelouch really couldn't summon up the overwhelming hate he felt towards the emperor against Clovis.

"Nunnally is alive as well? That's...That's wonderful news!" Clovis was babbling. "Everyone will be so happy when they hear the news! You can come home with..." Clovis stopped and froze, his mouth worked wordlessly as the gun was suddenly in his face, held by a hand that trembled with rage.

"Come back with you? Come back to Britannia? Take Nunnally back to that place?" Lelouch was shouting while Clovis cowered beneath him. "Have you forgotten why we ended up here in the first place? Why we were exiled to Japan? Because our dear _father_ said we were weak! Weak and useless! And he threw us away like trash. And now you want me to take Nunnally back to that?"

"Le...Lelouch" Clovis was doing his best not to break down and plead. Clovis wasn't a stupid man. And it was beginning to dawn on him just how this encounter could end if he didn't placate Lelouch.

"I have seen your true face today Clovis. Human experiments" Clovis's eyes widened. "Ordering the massacre of hundreds of innocent people just to protect your secret"

"They...they were just Eleve..."

Whack!

Lelouch stuck him in the face with the gun, leaving a vivid red mark and drawing blood. Clovis shouted and covered his face with his arms as blood dribbled from the cut on his cheek.

"Elevens? Elevens? They were people! People who were slaughtered like cattle on your orders!" An expression of animal anger was on Lelouch's face as he shouted at Clovis.

Lelouch stopped his ranting suddenly, looked at the pistol in his hand, looked at Clovis, and brought the pistol up and pressed the muzzle against Clovis's forehead, forcing him to lean back until his head was pressing back against the chair.

"No..." Clovis pleaded through dry lips. "Please no..."

"Did you know Clovis?" Lelouch grinned at him. "The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed. Are you preapred?"

"No! Please don't do this!" Clovis shouted in desperation, trying to say something, anything to save his life. "You don't have to come back! I won't tell anyone! I won't harm any more Ele...Japanese!" All he got in response was a humorless chuckle. "Please Lelouch! I'm your Brother! I'm your Brother!"

"Goodbye Clovis"

"Please n.."

Bang!

The bullet went through the forehead and exited from the back of the skull, taking half of Clovi's brans with it. Lelouch turned away from the corpse of his half brother and put on his helmet before exiting the room, leaving the corpse still sitting on the throne.

* * *

Some time later, Kallen and Ohgi, along with the rest of their little group, watched in amazement as the Britannian forces pulled out of the ghetto. Ohgi had radioed the other teams scattered throughout the battlefield and confirmed that it was happening all over the ghetto. One minute the Britannians were hell bent on massacring them all, the next moment they were not only pulling back, they were also offering medical aid to the very people they had been trying to massacre.

"What the hell is happening?" Kallen asked Ohgi, not reall expecting an answer.

"I have no idea" Ohgi admitted. "But this is a miracle"

"A miracle?" Minami came up behind them and clapped Ohgi on the back. "Well it's past time we got one"

* * *

Dietard Reid was getting frustrated. He had managed to follow Prince Clovis all the way to Shinjuku Ghetto and had found large numbers of Knightmares, tanks and VTOL's converging on the ghetto. Access to the entire area was restricted by the military and there was no sneaking past them. But he had seen enough to gather that some kind of military action was happening. However, before he could report anything back the military had politely but firmly relived them of their cameras and were even now standing guard over their news van. So Dietard had spent hours kicking his feet and staring longingly at the ghetto where he just _knew_ a story worthy of telling was being played out.

He was alternating between pacing in circles and cursing the military when his cameraman came running up to him. "Sir the news van, it's been stolen!"

"What?" Dietard shouted and ran back to where they had been allowed to park.

Indeed the spot was empty, with only a few sheepish looking soldiers standing around to mark where it had been at all.

"How could it be gone? You were here the entire time weren't you? No one could have taken it without you seeing" Dietard ranted at the soldiers.

"We were watching it but, it was suddenly gone" One of the soldiers scratched the back of his head. "Someone must have taken it when we weren't looking, though I could have sworn we had someone keep an eye on it the whole time"

"Oh for gods shake!" Dietard buried his head in his hands. "Why me!"

* * *

The news van sped along the streets of Tokyo settlement, taking the most direct route to Academy City the GPS could come up with.

"I don't belive it" Rivalz said for the tenth time. "I don't fucking belive it! We're alive! We are actually, alive! This is a miracle! We actually made it out alive!"

Lelouch, who was in the drivers seat, grinned at his blue haired friend. "Don't tell me you doubted my ability to pull our asses out of the fire. You were the one who said you believed in me after all"

"Heh heh, well maybe I had some doubts" Rivalz chuckled. "But not any more"

"Say Lelouch" Rivalz said after while. "You said you'd explain things to me when we were safe didn't you"

"I did say that" Lelouch sighed. "Well now is as good a time as any. And I know I can trust you. What do you like to know"

* * *

_There you have it. chapter three of the story. And it follows the battle of shinjuku ghetto. I have diverged from cannon on a few points here. Especially with making Kallen and ESPer and not sending a trainload of sunderlands to the ghetto mid battle. I also gave Kallens ability a handicap, a recharge time. So she won't be too powerful. And lulu still has his normal power. In the next chapter I plan to give an explanation of just where geass fits into the powers of the To Aru universe. Next few chapters should also introduce the main characters of the To Aru universe, spearheaded by the magnet of misfortune himself._

_I'm kind of worried that i'll end up having to juggle too many characters and their stories. Cause both Code Geass and To Aru have huge casts. But i'll see how it goes._

_I'm also debating about pairings. I don't know if I should have characters from the To Aru-verse fall for CG characters or vice versa. Any suggestions and advice you guys can give are welcome._

_Also I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, pm'ed me with ideas and faved the story. Thanks a lot for the encouragement and the help. :)_


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